Archaeologists say they have found the tomb of St. Nicholas that inspired the story of “Santa Claus.”
They discovered a two-meter-long limestone tomb with a raised lid and sloping roof buried up to two meters underground near the Church of St. Nicholas in Turkey.
The sarcophagus was found inside a two-story structure that borders the church courtyard to the south.
Now the team is searching for an inscription on the sarcophagus that could reveal the date and identity of the deceased.
“The fact that we found a sarcophagus near the church, which is believed to house his tomb, may indicate that this is the sacred area we have been searching for,” said Associate Professor Ebru Fatma Findik of Hatay Mustafa Kemal University.
The tomb was found in the ruins of an ancient basilica submerged by rising sea levels in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages.
Historical records have shown that soon after, the Church of Saint Nicholas was built on the foundations to protect the saint’s tomb.
But it wasn’t until recently that archaeologists discovered mosaics and stone floors from the previous sanctuary that led them to St. Nicholas’ final resting place.
They discovered a two-meter-long limestone tomb with a raised lid and a sloping roof buried up to two meters underground near the Church of St. Nicholas in Turkey.
Its design features a raised lid and a sloping roof, in line with other sarcophagi in the region.
Stories about the sacred figure, who lived between 270 and 343 AD, suggest that he inherited money and gave it away to the poor, specifically three girls to save them from a life of prostitution.
However, these ideas are not presented in historical documents, they are only transmitted in verbal stories.
Santa Claus is based on stories about Saint Nicholas, who earned a reputation for performing miracles and secretly giving gold to those in need.
The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick’s Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas, which in Dutch means Saint Nicholas.
‘Currently we can see the lid of the sarcophagus and we have discovered a small part of its basin. In the future, we will go deeper and fully reveal it,” Fındık said, according to Anadolu.
Records have shown that Saint Nicholas was buried in the church built in his name, but the exact whereabouts of his body has always been a mystery.
The Byzantine church built on the foundations was a place of worship for Orthodox Christians between the 5th and 12th centuries and was surrounded by statues of Saint Nicholas.
It was also added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1982.
Saint Nicholas, who lived between 270 and 343 AD, is famous for inheriting the money he gave to the poor and specifically for the story of how he gave three girls bags of gold to save them from a life of prostitution.
Archaeologists have long believed that the tomb of St. Nicholas was hidden near the church in Türkiye
The second church was found after researchers conducted electronic surveys beneath St. Nicholas Church and found gaps between the ground and the ground.
Then in 2022, the team announced that they may have found the tomb, but were still working to remove the floor of the Byzantine church so as not to damage it.
Osman Eravsar, head of the provincial cultural heritage preservation board in Antalya, told Demirören News Agency that year: “The first church was submerged with the rise of the Mediterranean Sea, and a few centuries later, a new church was built. on.
The Byzantine church (pictured) built on the ancient foundations was a place of worship for Orthodox Christians between the 5th and 12th centuries.
Interior of the Church of San Nicolás. Records have shown that Saint Nicholas was buried in the church built in his name, but the exact whereabouts of his body has always been a mystery.
‘Now we have reached the remains of the first church and the ground that St. Nicholas walked on.
“The tiled floor of the first church where St. Nicholas walked has been unearthed.”
Records show that Saint Nicholas was buried in the church built in his name, but the exact whereabouts of his body had always been a mystery.
The bones of Saint Nicholas are believed to have been smuggled to the Italian city of Bari by merchants in 1087.
But archaeologists now suggest that the wrong bones were dug up and that those that went to Italy belonged to an anonymous priest.
The relics of St. Nicholas remain enshrined in the 11th-century Basilica of San Nicola in Bari, although churches around the world have acquired fragments.